[image error] There have been many explanations given of some of the peculiarities of the reign of Elizabeth I. Her failure to marry, her early baldness and her strict instructions that no post mortem should be carried out on her body have all attracted their fair share of conspiracy theories. Few, however, are as colourful as the tale of the Bisley Boy.

Bisley in Gloucestershire is the site of Over Court, which in 1542 was a royal hunting lodge and, briefly, the home of Henry VIII's youngest daughter, Prin...